


Do Soldiers Dream Of Fal'Cie Sheep?

by EternalSailorNeptune_53



Series: Final Fantasy Versus XV [6]
Category: Final Fantasy XIII, Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Gen, Nightmares, References to the XIII trilogy, Sleepwalking, Sleepwalking is more like sleepfighting, The XIII characters appear in nightmares only; so they're minor appearances
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-25
Updated: 2020-03-25
Packaged: 2021-03-01 05:40:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23310064
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EternalSailorNeptune_53/pseuds/EternalSailorNeptune_53
Summary: Takes place during: Chapter 6: A Way ForwardLightning's past starts catching up to her in a way that begins affecting her dreams and her friends. The boys try everything in the book to help with no avail. Can everyone get a good night's sleep without waking up feeling sore in the morning?
Relationships: Gladiolus Amicitia & Lightning (Final Fantasy XIII), Lightning & Chocobros, Lightning (Final Fantasy XIII) & Ignis Scientia, Lightning (Final Fantasy XIII) & Noctis Lucis Caelum, Prompto Argentum & Lightning (Final Fantasy XIII)
Series: Final Fantasy Versus XV [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1600693
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10





	Do Soldiers Dream Of Fal'Cie Sheep?

**Author's Note:**

> This one has to be my longest installment so far, gotta say! Pretty much double the usual page count and just as many words. It's also taken me quite a while to write because of my other projects and other life goings-ons getting in the way, but I'm happy this is finally over with.
> 
> I took a lot of inspiration from "Survival of the Idiots" and like one part in "Home Sweet Pineapple" to make this oneshot. You'll definitely see how so reading this. I didn't wanna make things very depressing, so don't worry too much on any angst here. It's mostly lighthearted with a pleasant ending. There's not much else I really have on it besides that, so I'll let you guys get to reading and answer any questions afterwards.

Another full day of road travel and combat wore the royal quintet rampant, finally earning them a good spot in the wild to set up camp and rest up for tomorrow’s trials and tribulations. Unpacking everything needed for their outdoor lodging, Gladio and Lightning handled the heavier-set supplies as Noctis and Prompto assisted Ignis in preparing the night’s dinner. Both groups appeared to finish at nearly identical times, everyone sitting down around the fire in their outdoor folding chairs enjoying the latest of finished recipes.

“Mmm! Iggy, your Meat-and-Beet Bouillon’s gotta be among my top favorite dishes,” Prompto breathed, licking his lips of the sweetened broth. “In every bite, I can just feel its tender warmth coursing through my veins…! Such power within soup!”

“As much heart as I put into my cooking, I’m sorry to say that there aren’t any strengthening enhancers outside of nutritional fuel,” Ignis quipped. “What you feel might only be placebic at best.”

“Who can blame him for thinking so?” Lightning asked, taking more scoops of her helping. “Anyone that good at turning wild creature meat into gourmet dishes has to carry some sorta secret.”

“Perhaps.” Ignis drew his pointer finger to his mouth, which shaped like a playful smirk. “However, my lips are forever sealed.”

“An expert chef and tactician all in one never reveals his secrets,” Gladio noted. “Good thing, too. Some things don’t always need to have their cover blown. It ruins the mystery.”

“Whatever his secret is, I’m not complaining,” Noctis hummed, consuming more bites of his food. “The ones that make mountains out of mildew always wind up making the best stuff, no matter what it is.”

“Molehills, Noct. Mountains out of _molehills_ ,” Ignis corrected.

“Still. If it was mildew, it’s even better because that’s smaller than a molehill.”

“I’d rather not touch something that used to be caked along my windowsill,” Lightning laughed. “Wild game’s a lot less gross to eat, don’t you think?”

“Amen, sister, amen,” Prompto agreed wholeheartedly.

Dinner didn’t take long to conclude, Ignis getting a start on cleaning things up before joining the others in preparing for bedtime once the campfire was extinguished and the chairs put away. Hiding a separate ways from the boys to undress, Lightning slipped into her nightly clothes privately. Although she no doubt trusted her friends to act wisely (regarding that specific context, at least), being the team’s sole female member that didn’t come and go made for a boundary or few that needed to be made. When she finished and presently donned a simple white camisole and gray sleep shorts, Lightning headed to her separate tent just as the Lucians did the same with their bigger one.

“Why’d you pitch your tent so far out?” Noctis wondered, stopping with his hand holding up the opening sheet.

“It’s not that far, and I just like my privacy,” Lightning responded simply. “I sleep better when I’m undisturbed.”

“This wouldn’t have to do with me keeping you up trying to shoot the breeze, would it?” Noctis recalled losing count of how many times he’d once shone his flashlight on Lightning’s tent until only he fell asleep, being greeted in the morning with a weary death glare from the girl as a result. “If it is, I said I was sorry already.”

“No, but now I’ve got reason number two to sleep at a distance. Reason number one is… well, maybe it’s best to not tell you.”

“C’mon, we don’t bite or anything. What’s one night of putting your tent a couple feet closer gonna do?”

“Really, Noct, it’s not as good of an idea as you think.”

“Let her sleep far if she wants already,” Gladio cut in with a yawn. “Quit badgering her and acting like none of us can handle our own for one night.”

“I didn’t say that, I just—” Noctis was about to argue, then deciding there was no point. “Alright, then. We’ll see you in the morning, Light. Sweet dreams.”

 _‘Here’s hoping,’_ Lightning thought worriedly, slipping into her tent and zipping up. “Goodnight, guys.”

Saying it in return, the boys all went off to sleep after zipping their tent up too. Now left alone with only her waking thoughts and the moonlit, starry sky as company, Lightning laid backfirst in her tent’s sleeping bag. She wasn’t really feeling all too tired, anxiousness at what might happen if she dozed off keeping her up. It was a 50-50 occurence shot overall, making things even worse for the former soldier. Maybe… Noctis had a good idea? Would sleeping closer downplay the odds of having a rough night after all? _Possibly worth a shot_ , Lightning imagined. _Possibly_.

Readjusting her tent took very little effort; the entire thing was only big enough to host two, maybe three if lucky, people at most. Lifting it and carefully moving towards where the boys were sleeping, Lightning planted her spot a little over half the distance it was before, leaving a considerate amount of room so neither tent got crowded. Going back inside, she zipped everything up again and laid down in her sleeping bag, closing her eyes and letting nature do the rest.

“Ghh…” Lightning grunted within a deeper slumber, unpleasant imagery flashing in her subconscious at a nauseating pace. “No, come on… let me go…!”

Accompanying the darkness, the sound of reverberating bell tolls and the turning of mechanical gears haunted every last bit of what Lightning could see. Brightening glows of teal was the only thing that illuminated her pitch black surroundings, familiar vines of an identical color ensnaring her and leaving the girl wriggling in front of a mighty, divine figure. Still struggling, Lightning yanked on what she believed were her bounds, taking the titanic entity down to her level and allowing for a vengeance assault.

“Get away! You don’t have control over me anymore…!” Lightning grumbled, wailing what her dream’s reality perceived as her gunblade’s sword form into her foe over and over mercilessly. “You’re history! You’re nothing! I won’t give in! EVER…!”

Following her beating on the entity and its defense methods, Lightning saw nothing but more darkness overtake her, much like the exhaustion that allowed her to collapse atop her sleeping bag in the real world. Weary, her body grew heavy with sleep, dormant like a heavy potato sack strewn across the ground. Though not necessarily comforting considering the excruciating visions she’d just had, at least some form of rest let her lie still for the night in preparation for the upcoming rise of daylight.

If only Lightning were awake enough to notice the battered, ruined tent neighboring hers and hear four separate groans of pain coming from inside resulting from previous shouts for ceasefire. Whatever creature she’d fought sleeping may have been vanquished, but as a price went such luck of the Lucians forced to have gotten a sneak preview of the battle.

* * *

“Morning, everyone…” Lightning yawned, rubbing her eyes and joining the others fully dressed. “I gotta say; I had the roughest night last night.”

“You aren’t the only one.”

Looking from hearing the sheer soreness of Gladio’s voice, Lightning was shocked to see how beaten up the boys all looked along with their displeased expressions. Ignis and Noctis both had a noticeable share of black eyes (the former also having to wear cracked glasses, to his further irritation), Prompto missing a few of his teeth and covered in bruises, and Gladio stuck with a bandage over his damaged nose paired with the ice he held over a presumed head lump. Unsure of what to say or what happened, Lightning accepted a portion of breakfast and tried to solve the mystery internally to no fruit borne.

“What went on with you guys?” she inquired. “Did we get attacked? Was it a coeurl?”

“Yeah, a coeurl,” Gladio snarked. “A really big _pink_ coeurl that woke up in the middle of the night and started beating the tar out of our tent for no reason.”

“A pink one? But coeurls aren’t—” Lightning stopped, shooting Gladio a look when it hit her. “Don’t tell me you’re saying I did that to you guys. I didn’t get up until just now.”

“Clearly, some sort of nightly escapade was brought into the mix because we heard you clear as day last night,” Ignis refuted. “However, since you’re denying it, I can only come to the assumption that you don’t have any memory of the incident.”

“It’s hard to remember something that didn’t happen. The worst that did happen was me having a nightmare, but that’s it.”

“Did the nightmare in question involve physically assaulting someone, by any chance?” Prompto wondered, spitting out another bloodied tooth into his hand and frowning.

“No, but I was fighting… something. I think I might know what it was, too.” Lightning ran a hand through rosy pink bangs, realizing an unfortunate possibility. “Etro, I knew sleeping close to your tent would be a horrible idea! For me to remember something last night of all nights, too!”

“What are you talking about?” Noctis asked, his brow high. “Remember what, exactly?”

“Forget it. It was just some really bad nightmare, and I won’t talk about it.”

“It’s obviously not just ‘some nightmare’ if it makes you beat us to a pulp in your sleep. Maybe sleeping further away from us would be a good idea after all?”

“That’s what I’ve been trying to let her do, but Princess here picked a bad night to wanna be extra chummy,” Gladio spat, pointing back to Noctis with his thumb.

“Rich coming from one of three people wanting me to act chummier with Light in the first place,” Noctis retorted. “Not— that that’s the point. Tonight, it’s all her call in how far she wants her tent.”

“In the meantime, let’s allow our injuries to heal up,” Ignis suggested. “...And find a replacement for our tent.”

“Sorry,” Lightning apologized, taking full blame for the damage.

“Don’t worry about it,” Gladio reassured her. “It’s not a first for dealing with a ruined tent. By tonight, it’ll be good as new.”

Well, there was always hoping. The retinue finished up breakfast as usual and cleaned up their campsite, getting back on the road to get started on some important side tasks they had as part of the day’s agenda. None seemed particularly tense in the car ride away from the former haven after what happened except Lightning, who could only think of her nightmare that caused her to lash out physically against her new friends. A hand went to the middle of her breastbone, as if covering a former brand of shame once planted to grow in its place the more she fought through danger.

It was all in the past and she vowed to die with it, but for the coming years, the memorable visions had plenty of time to haunt her. Just her luck, indeed…

* * *

That following night was yet another to be spent sleeping outdoors, everyone all dressed down to appropriate sleepwear and heading for the two tents. As Gladio promised, the boys’ sleeping hut was looking almost as good as new. It’d needed a little fixing of the snapped poles (and replacing some he just couldn’t work his “outdoorsman mojo” on), but everything got his seal of approval for a good night’s rest. Lightning was sure to pitch her tent as far away as possible without stepping out of bounds of the campsite, feeling much more secure with fighting her night terrors in peace that way.

“I’d like to see me try and have a night fit this far out,” Lightning uttered almost smugly. “You guys good over there?”

“All set! You?!” Noctis shouted back, getting agreement from the other three.

“Just fine! We’re all gonna sleep a lot better tonight, I promise! No way of getting over there from this spot!”

“I sure hope so! There’s only so many times Gladio can reset the tent as much as it’s gonna be damn impossible getting him to swallow his pride!”

“You’re telling me! If you do need a new tent, I’ll get a new one at our next rest stop since I’m the one smashing it to begin with!”

“Nah, don’t sweat it! This isn’t the first time our tent’s gotten totaled! One time, we fought this giant man-bear-thing with like fifty arrows and an axe stuck in its back, and—!”

“—Tell her how we almost died tomorrow!” Gladio groaned, yanking Noctis in the tent. “You get some sleep too, Light! We’ll let ya know if something happened in the morning!”

“Maybe you won’t have to,” Lightning hoped, backing into her tent and zipping it shut before laying down in her sleeping bag.

Closing her eyes and counting Fuzzy Sheep (this time without having to chase them around a ranch on the back of a white “chocobo”), Lightning eased herself into another round of sleep. Things felt static enough to give off a “so far, so good” vibe to the approaching vision, the physical being sinking into her padded surface laid on flat ground. Breathing steadied to a shallow, but relaxed inhale-exhale pattern, falling more to the tender arms of slumber waiting to catch her and hold her in a comforting embrace like a mother would the young child she so loved. For just a moment, Lightning let her armor be split, taking in every second of respite as if it wouldn’t return.

But, just like the previous flashes of hope she’d reached for, yet another fizzled and darkened. The shadows didn’t seem all too worrisome until cooled waves of a salted dark blue shoreline brushed across and away from the tip of her steel-toed boot—

...What? No, no! That’s impossible! She hadn’t worn anything of the sort since her once endless days trapped in—!

“Valhalla…” Lightning breathed, hitched of oxygen and standing frozen in feathered Champion’s armor.

There was no mistaking it. Skies tainted a sickly pale green, yet graced with a bright white glistening from an unknown heaven as it all lay in temporal stasis? Yep, that was only the basic sliver of Valhalla. Although fully aware she was only dreaming due to the knowledge of the former Nova Chrysalia’s origins, Lightning braced herself for what her restless subconscious had to throw at her. Darkened, emerald grains and luminescent shards crinkled beneath every step of her soles, the soft water’s ripples her only companion in sound within an otherwise muted world. Finding her way back to the real world was tricky enough, but Etro only knew what the illusionary version of mortality’s bridge had in store for her in just a single night.

Hardly moments later, Lightning came across the inevitable disruption of the serene quiet, a ray of bright lilac ascending and piercing the sky something she’d seen well before. The waters burst with a swarm of Meonekton flying wherever was open, gathering to their mystic beacon as it summoned a rain of blue meteorites crashing to the ground exploding individually. Dashing and jumping around them, the ground shook with every burst of heat just mere inches away from Lightning, the distant horse whinny approaching her and acting as her saving grace in the glowing other form of Odin.

“Long time, no see,” Lightning greeted, jumping on the equine Eidolon’s back and riding forward past every explosion and vanquished Meonekton. “And you’re not the only one, either…”

“And so returns the deathless Champion of the fallen death goddess,” a deep voice that could only belong to Caius Ballad himself spoke up, standing before Lightning with his Chaos’ Revenge drawn. “Many a century have passed you, but none of it can be forgotten, can it?”

“The past has been long over. I can’t do a thing to change any of it, but there’s no way I’m letting it haunt me for the rest of my life.”

“You say that, and yet here you are plagued by another accursed memory. If you cannot stop yourself from becoming trapped in a figmented version of Valhalla, then how is it you plan to escape your inner turmoils once and for all?”

“Exactly how I did it the first time.” Holding her open hand to her side, Lightning called Overture to take form and raised her almighty gunblade high. “By deciding how this battle’s gonna end and saying it’s now!”

Charging forth on Odin and leaping, Lightning descended and slammed her blade’s edge against the deflecting side of Caius’, both weapons clashing apart with bits of sparks flying from mutual friction. The Guardian seemed to have no trouble deflecting more attacks coming his way, retaliating and catching Lightning off guard by using a powerful blast of dark magic. Swinging his sword, Caius sent Etro’s former protector flying across the horizon, Lightning grabbing ahold of Odin again when he ran to her rescue and riding to follow her opponent swinging Overture to knock away any attacks fired from that direction.

“Is! That! All you’ve got?!” Lightning taunted, deflecting as if her life actually depended on the battle.

“I believe the answer to that one is obvious,” Caius retorted, eyes glowing bright red like the one on his glowing sword. “Cast your shadow over all… wings of night!”

Remembering what came next, Lightning leaped back and watched as Caius transformed into his former Eidolon, Chaos Bahamut, the armored creature towering over and slamming a claw towards his adversary with a loud roar. Deflecting using her mighty gunblade’s edge, Lightning jumped to a great height to be at an equal reach and started alternating between slashing, striking, and cutting in her duel against Caius’ other form. Taking the best opening that came up in the fight, Lightning gripped both hands around Overture’s hilt and dove towards a pulsing red glow in Chaos Bahamut’s chest.

“Caius Ballad…!” Lightning cried, about to plunge the blade in her targeted spot when Caius resumed his normal form and held the tip just inches from his pectoral. “What?!”

“None of what you see may be real,” Caius began, “but so long as you continue to envision the past, a prisoner of your former trials you shall remain to be.”

Without having the chance to respond, Lightning was pulled in closer as Caius pierced the Heart of Chaos using Overture’s blade, a shroud of darkness engulfing the former divine Champion in seconds. Gasping for breath and trying to claw back to freedom, Lightning only sunk deeper into the bowels of Chaos, unsure of when she’d hit its lowest point imaginable. Her eyes began closing shut, every point of her being numbed the further she sank and ultimately sending her back to her previous dormant state. Slumping heavily against her sleeping bag in her tent, Lightning remained lethargic and was bound in stasis, the closest thing she’d get to actually falling asleep that night without the missing peacefulness of normal rest.

* * *

Oh no, not again.

Upon dragging herself out of bed come morning’s light and dressing for the day ahead, Lightning was greeted by yet more proof she’d slept anything but soundly the night before. This time, the injuries the quartet of boys sustained yesterday paled in comparison to the ones they had now. Whatever part of them wasn’t chipped, bruised, or gashed was swollen with red bumps and dried to a dark red from having just finished profusely bleeding. Prompto currently had an Ice magic flask over his injuries (a replacement for the slab of raw meat given the “Scientia Veto” against improper usage), Ignis got done applying gauze and bandage pads to his injuries on his face and lower arms, and Gladio was busying himself relocating Noctis’ shoulder while pardoning his blackened eye and aching ribs.

“Hold still, this isn’t gonna hurt a bit,” Gladio told the prince, jerking the arm forward and back in place.

“AUGH! What the Hell, cut that out! THAT HURTS!” Noctis screamed, gritting his teeth against the pain until something popped where it should have. Rolling his shoulder, he made sure nothing was going to fall out again, still sore. “Don’t quit your day job, ‘doc’.”

“Take two and call me in the morning.” Gladio then looked at Lightning, who looked uneasy seeing her friends’ current states. “Speaking of mornings, I take it someone just woke up from a rough night again?”

“I don’t have to answer that,” Lightning muttered. “The answer’s clear as day.”

“And I think you had a rougher episode than the first time,” Noctis groaned. “But, while we’re on it… who’s Caius and why’s he have his own ballad?”

“What? No, no, that’s his name. ‘Caius Ballad’. And… all you need to know is he’s someone from my past who you’ll never meet.”

“Guess that crosses the ‘old flame’ option off the table,” Prompto brought up, leaning to Noctis and whispering. “You’ve still got a chance, dude.”

“Chance at what? I’m done being Light’s sorta-nemesis if that’s what you mean. We’re friends now, remember?”

“Oh, I know. No need to remind me, Noct ol’ buddy boy.”

Prompto still had a sneaky look on his face, which Noctis ceased paying heed to lest he feed the fire. “Anyways, sleeping away from us did nothing, so now what?”

“If distance isn’t the issue, then pent-up nocturnal aggression might be it,” Ignis suggested, plugging up his bleeding nose with wads of tissue paper. “Perhaps Light needs to vent her urges in the daytime so none come up in the night.”

“I’d be more than up for helping her in that department,” Gladio volunteered. “There’s no harm in switching up my sparring partner every now and again, and who better than the Pink Menace herself?”

“Are you guys sure that’s a good idea?” Lightning wondered. “I’m pretty sure I roughed you all up a lot harder in my sleep than I could by doing some harmless sparring.”

“What, this? This is nothing. A papercut compared to anything we’d be up against. Besides, I never took you for being one to back out of a fight.”

“Don’t make me laugh. It’s different when knowing my next sleep attack could get you guys killed not knowing my own strength.”

“Hence the point of doing a little harmless duking so you don’t have to beat us when we’re trying to get shut-eye. If you’re gonna choose a poison, go with the smarter one to swallow.”

Lightning didn’t say anything for a bit after that in order to think, reluctantly going with the more realistic option. “Bring the greatsword I rated the highest and meet me in an hour. Just know I won’t be holding back either if you’re going to be serious about this.”

“Great choice, Sarge. It’s a date.”

Gladio added the last part with an intentionally flirty tone, which Lightning ignored taking her leave to fetch her best gunblade. After warming up and getting any muscular knots out so as not to hinder any sudden movements, the two got started. Starting by running at Gladio with her full blade out, Lightning jumped high and slammed the edge of her weapon into the greatsword blocking her attack. Gladio swung away at the hybrid-sword, bringing his grip down to try and get a downward strike on his friendly opponent. Jumping away from the attacking range, Lightning moved back in to get another strike where Gladio was open, slashing at him close to his bicep and following up with one hit that came after a high enough jump.

“Not bad!” Gladio commented, landing another good hit towards Lightning before she moved in with another blade strike of her own. “But, don’t start holding back on me now. I wanna see every drop of fighting spirit out of you!”

“We just might be here for a good while!” Lightning responded, running in and thrusting her blade near Gladio’s side.

“Fine by me. I’ve had longer fights, and the less antsy you are tonight, the better.”

“That’s assuming this works…!”

“It will. Trust me on that one!” Gladio deflected another strike from Lightning, swerving his greatsword around to try and catch her at waist level.

The sparring session as expected carried on for a good while, Lightning calling end match when she was sure she’d gotten all of her aggression out of her. If not, there was more than enough time to get the rest out before nightfall, which she figured Gladio would stay in the mood for. Giving each other the necessary praise on a spar well done, the two carried onwards by catching up with Noctis, Ignis, and Prompto to where everyone agreed to be for the day. Lightning felt tense, but only from the thought of another idea dripping down the drain and making them all (mostly the boys, but guilt never helped anyone’s case) pay for it overnight.

* * *

Nighttime inevitably fell upon the campsite, the boys having hurried to bed before Lightning in an effort to get in as much peaceful slumber as they could steal. She didn’t take it too personally or as an implication they didn’t trust her (well, maybe a little, but given the context, it’d been fairly understandable), straying a good distance away from their worse-for-wear tent as a reminder not to get too lenient. Reclining in her smaller hut’s sleeping bag, Lightning let her eyes fall shut reluctantly, the built up fatigue possessing her slender, yet athletic being in a gradual arrival.

“Alright, brain. Where’d you take me this time?” Lightning sighed wearily, stepping off a platform and seeing she hadn’t fallen. Instead, a mystical path of flowing energy kept her up, leading her through platforms in the shape of waxing crescent moons.

A sense of familiarity crept up on her with every foot forward, her nighttime outfit dissolving and making way for Equilibrium in all of its armored, yet also free-flowing glory. On her back was Crimson Blitz, glistening fully-restored to the top of its blade blood red like the shield guarding her left bicep. Glimmering in the distance was a smaller figure in the middle of a more titanic one of shadow, both of which Lightning knew much too well after seeing it in a second occurrence. The unknown figure appeared as a spitting image of Hope Estheim during his adolescent years, but the monochromatic checkerboard pattern where jade green had been missing immediately gave away its true identity.

“You can’t fool me,” Lightning scoffed, standing her ground at the deity’s feet. “Using Hope’s face as a puppet like the first time only makes you all the more obvious. What are you doing in my head, Bhunivelze?”

“I did not come to you on my own accord,” Bhunivelze corrected through Hope’s voice monotonously. “This version before you is nothing more than a projection of what you’ve already faced.”

“So, what? You’re gonna tell me that this is all because I can’t let the past go or something like that? Afraid you’re too late if you wanted to be the first in line.”

“However many times the message may be repeated is irrelevant. For you to be granted mercy requires facing what it is you are adamant on fleeing from.”

“By repeating history? Think I’ll pass.”

“There is no repeating what can occur no more than once outside of reliving it through your own mind. As such, the dreams that have haunted you nightly must cease by closure.”

“What more closure could I need? I’m far in the present away from things like you that only existed to turn my life into a living Hell. Same with Caius Ballad and Anima in the last two nights.”

“Closure in your definition is not closure by another’s.” Hope’s younger form melted away into light, crushed by a giant black hand connected to Bhunivelze’s truer self brought to the dream reality. “Fight as you may what cannot be erased, it is no help in finding the peace you seek.”

“I thought I was done with fighting for my life, but my new job’s put that on hold.” Lightning drew Equilibrium to her side, running towards the figmented god with it raised. “Which means right now, I don’t have a choice!”

The floor cracked and shattered, unveiling a checkerboard surface similar to that of fake Hope’s neck scarf, except a sickly green where it should have been white. Bhunivelze began by casting Doom on Lightning, who charged forth knowing she now had a limited time to reign victorious. Jumping and slamming Equilibrium against him, the strike was blocked off by a simple Guard, but she no less persisted to try and break through. When it finally shattered, she hurled a few Ruin orbs at Bhunivelze, then following up with a few more casts of magic ending in a strong Blitz. Physical attacks sent her way were shielded by her own Guard, then jumping to land as many slashes with Equilibrium as possible.

“You must submit, O former Goddess of Death,” Bhunivelze warned.

“My days of being a god’s plaything have been over for over 500 years,” Lightning retorted, using Mediguard to protect herself and replenish her energy. “And the same will go for these stupid nightmares ones like you keep making me go through on loop!”

“These visions are no fault of mine, nor anyone else’s aside from who struggles the most from them.” Raising Double Deity high, Bhunivelze seemed to grow even stronger with his wings flared along his own holy gleam. “You who claims fate for her own refuses her own liberation.”

“As if I’d ever listen to you!”

A single bright white beam pierced from above to the ground, the ensuing explosion blooming forth and only growing in size chasing Lightning. Bracing herself for its power, she leaped through the blast shielded to her best ability, raising Equilibrium and slashing endlessly at Bhunivelze’s lower half. In retaliation, the god spun Double Deity to cut through Lightning, met with defensive strikes lessening the neverending blows and another melee attack brought to his form’s most exposed area. Sending more Ruin attacks his way, Lightning knelt with one hand keeping her upright in preparation of a much stronger attack she hoped would be the end of Bhunivelze inside of her slumbering consciousness.

Going a speed well-befitting the moniker she’d borne from youth, Lightning left nothing more than her blade’s thin red line whilst dashing around and through Bhunivelze using deliberate, yet highly powerful lacerations. Although just one woman was responsible for currently pulling it off, the attack had both the agility and the might of a full army banding together. Lightning’s slashes only grew faster, cutting deeper into Bhunivelze with each dash by him and leaping above his brow raising Equilibrium just as high over her own head. In a single diving strike unleashed as the final blow, Lightning stood before the lingering blast she’d left merely sheathing her weapon, Bhunivelze groaning in agony with the ground crumbling underneath him. Running to try and get away from falling into darkness below proved futile, the Doom counter finally teaching zero and causing Lightning to ultimately black out on the spot against her will.

For what felt like the longest minutes of her life when it was in actuality a split second of falling once, Lightning collapsed to her sleeping bag’s surface perfectly still aside from perfectly functioning vitals. Her jaw went half-slack against the material, faint breathing gargled from built-up saliva in her throat more proof that she’d thankfully fallen unconscious and not dead of any shock. Nothing else plagued the innermost pits of her mind for the night’s remainder, but the anticipation of a dreadful aftermath was sure to be consequence enough.

* * *

“Yep. Just as I figured.”

Lightning guessed herself completely correct seeing the boys covered in yet more injuries inflicted by her nightmare-induced rampage, though oddly less of them compared to previous occurrences. _So much for letting off a little steam beforehand_ , she scoffed internally with disdain towards herself. Quietly getting on her day clothes and packing up her tent, Lightning felt like a naughty dog with its legs sandwiching its tail while storing it in the Armiger for safekeeping. The quiet was only broken when one of the boys approached her noticing she neither said a word nor got too close to the rest of the group.

“Guess Gladio’s plan was a bust, huh?” Noctis guessed, using two fingers to make sure his jaw was adjusted back in place.

“I think it made me even more aggressive in my sleep,” Lightning agreed. “But, don’t worry. This time, I have a better idea.”

“What are you gonna do?”

“You’ll see soon enough. Are you guys alright?”

“More or less. We actually managed to get out of range this time before you could land any serious hits. ...Can’t say the same for the campsite, sadly.”

Lightning turned to where Noctis did, wincing at the gargantuan crater she’d left presumably from her finishing hit on Bhunivelze. “How goes your tent?”

“Completely destroyed. We were gonna head out and pick up a new one.”

“Oh. Maybe for at least tonight, we oughta hold off on camping out? I’ll even pay for motel expenses since it’s me that’s dragged you all into this.”

“Light, I get you feel bad, but there’s no way I’m sucking your wallet dry just because of it. We’ll be just fine if another sleep attack comes up.”

“Did you not see that giant hole I punched in the campsite? That could have been you or anyone else.”

“You are not gonna back down from this easily, are you? Fine. I’ll talk to the others and see if there’s a nearby caravan for tonight’s stay. How about it?”

“Better. That way, you guys can at least get a comfier night’s sleep even if I don’t.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“It’s not important. Let’s get going.”

Noctis and Lightning hopped in the Regalia, the other three getting inside not too long after so Ignis could drive off to the next spot for gathering supplies. The large lump currently growing out of his head didn’t appear worrying enough to hinder his focus on the road, which was relieving to know, but still hadn’t been that much so in reducing Lightning’s guilt. No one in the car (save for the actual perpetrator) seemed particularly tense at the situation; primarily too sore from injuries and understanding nothing that happened was deliberate in any way. Seeing how more taciturn Lightning was outside of her usual brand of it, however, the boys opted for giving her some peace for the time being until the moment felt more appropriate.

Upon finally parking, Ignis and Lightning were the ones going to handle food supplies while Noctis, Prompto, and Gladio left to purchase everything else. By no means was it an incredibly fancy or overly-large store, but it was just plenty in retrieving essential ingredients. Going to another section on her own so she could both tackle half the list and enact her temporary plan, Lightning scanned the shelves for what would be a key component. Finally spotting a boxed six-pack of it, she reached and picked it up three on the spot, nearly dropping them when Ignis’ voice from thin air startled her.

“You’re purchasing Ebony?” he asked, curious. “I never took you for the type to enjoy it.”

“Well— I know how much you do. And I could have sworn you were running low, so I wanted to pick some up for you,” Lightning fibbed.

“I appreciate the concern greatly, but that’s hardly necessary. Besides, I’d prefer being the one checking over the quality personally.”

“You don’t trust me?”

“Don’t take it so personally, Light. A lover of one’s daily fuel simply needs to ensure it’s at peak quality.”

“I… understand. I’ll let you handle these, then.” Lightning spotted a black vending machine off in the corner of the store, its big white writing giving her a new opportunity. “Don’t inspect for too long.”

“I won’t be. It’s crucial to depart—” Ignis paused, seeing Lightning left him behind mid-sentence and giving up. “...Punctually. Someone’s in quite a hurry this morning.”

Putting in roughly 300 Gil at a time, Lightning collected each can of Ebony that came from the vending machine individually. She stopped at a good six cans before her arms filled and the knowledge of not murdering the team’s budget came back to mind. Setting each can inside her shopping hand basket, Lightning looked for the rest of the list that Ignis hadn’t already picked up yet. After it was certain Ignis wasn’t quite done getting his half, she used his extra spot check to buy some time and have the cashier put the extra cans of Ebony in a bag separate from the groceries. When everything had been finally paid for, Lightning fled from the store just as Ignis was ready to take his turn buying the rest.

“That was close,” Lightning exhaled near the Regalia, putting all except the Ebony cans away and cracking one open. “Better make this fast. I’ll save the rest for later.”

Throwing her head back with her soft pink lips over the can’s cold opening, Lightning chugged down as much of the chilled dark liquid as she could in one sitting. She’d made it no further than a ¼ ingested when she ripped the Ebony from her mouth and forced her tongue to make peace with the stinging bitterness. Anything Ignis may have said in praising the drink was definitely exaggerated in her opinion, but she pretended otherwise before continuing to swallow more cold caffeine. The minute no more was left at the bottom, Lightning stuffed the can inside the nearest trash can as if trying to hide a freshly deceased corpse, darting her eyes around to check and see if any of the boys had returned yet. Relieved, she took her seat behind the passenger’s one in the Regalia, recalling Ignis saying he’d be driving after supplies were all accounted for.

“Nothing’s kicked in yet,” Lightning noted, opening another can of Ebony. “Better make it two for luck and save the rest.”

“If you wanted some Ebony for yourself, you could have simply told me,” Ignis spoke up, spooking Lightning into spitting the dark liquid all over her clothes and coughing from the bits that got in her windpipe.

“Don’t— _ACK_! Sneak up on me like that…!” Lightning hacked out the last drops of coffee, taking a few moments to breathe easier. “Whew… I’m alright now. You were saying?”

“I was saying it isn’t a crime to smuggle a beverage as if it were stolen goods. The only reason I’d need to intervene is if there was only one remaining. Otherwise, you’re more than free to buy your own.”

“Thanks for letting me know.” Lightning looked at her stained clothes, leaving the car and wiping some of it off. “I’ll be in the bathroom if the others come back and ask.”

“And while you’re at it, you may need to limit having Prompto rub off on you. You’re both terrible at getting things past me.”

Lightning rolled her eyes and otherwise ignored Ignis, going to the nearest ladies’ room to scrub out the drying Ebony from her clothes while taking the can it’d come out of with her. Thankfully, none of it had enough time to leave a more difficult stain, so a little hand soap and warm water got everything cleaned with ease. Before heading out to meet up with the boys, Lightning inhaled the rest of the Ebony and tossed the can away in the bathroom garbage, starting to feel the tingles and energy that followed drinking enough coffee. So far, so good; all that was left was drinking more, but not all at once so she had nothing left.

* * *

Closer to dusk after completing a difficult quest for someone Noctis encountered from the rest area, the retinue found and collectively (with most from Lightning despite the boys’ insistence at not wanting to make a lady break herself) paid for the decent-looking caravan acting as their night’s stay. While getting their things ready inside and calling dibs on which spots to sleep in, Ignis spotted Lightning more far off from the others patting the end of another Ebony to make it all go down faster. Frowning, he pulled Prompto to his side and uttered concerns in his ear for the former sergeant. Although stunned to hear them, Prompto no less complied and went over for a tame word.

“Hey, Pink?” he asked, thankfully catching Lightning after she’d finished downing more coffee. “Is everything alright over here?”

“Mmm-hmm, just dandy! Why wouldn’t they be anything but completely dandy? How did you get over here so fast, Prompto? And I don’t just mean because of your name either!” Lightning got out all at once, spitfire from the rush the caffeine was giving her.

“You mean besides sounding like you’re running an auction? A little glasses-wearing birdie just told me how you’ve been downing a whole bunch of Ebony today. Which, definitely explains why you were more energetic than usual on today’s errand.”

“What’s wrong with that? You’re energetic all the time, so it’s not against the law for someone else to take the torch, and besides! It’s important for people to stay awake during the day so they can go right to sleep all night long! I’m just keeping up with everybody because you can’t afford to slack behind.”

“Nothing’s wrong with having a little kick in your step. It’s just— you’re not exactly the first person I’d think that’d have it. And we’ve already got one Ebony addict on board; no need to make it double.”

“I can quit anytime I want, Prom. I’ve already just had my fifth can and I feel great! Ready to stay up and look for danger. Daemons love to terrorize people at night when they’re sleeping, and we can’t have that, can we now?”

“You’ve never had to worry about sleeping on the job before. Where’s all of this coming from?” Prompto paused, arriving at a conjecture. “Light… do you not want to go to bed because you’re scared of beating us up in your sleep again?”

Lightning flinched, as quick to deny it as her current mode of speech. “Of course not! Do you ever think I want to stay up a little longer? You don’t have a law against it here in Eos or something, do you? If you say there is, then I doubt it like no tomorrow.”

“I’ll take that as a yes. Look, I get that you don’t want to do something bad to us beyond your control, but keeping yourself from getting a good night’s sleep isn’t the answer to it!”

“Then what do you suggest I do? Hmm?”

“If sparring and getting all your built-up cravings for fighting did nothing, then how about the opposite? People who don’t sleep so good sometimes meditate and calm themselves, and that does the trick.”

“You really expect me to believe that’s going to help? Nothing will at this point.”

“Never say never! Anything beats doing nothing, and if it possibly helps you, I’ll do exactly that.” Prompto got on one knee, an arm to his abdomen while holding Lightning’s hand to his chin. “Fair lady, I am your night-knight in shining armor waiting to help a sleeping beauty in distress.”

“Isn’t the knight supposed to wake up Sleeping Beauty?”

“Details, not important. Come on. I know some perfect exercises bound to help you take a load off.”

“By the way, if Ignis was so bothered by my Ebony overdose, how come he sent you to interrogate me?”

“He said as much as he wanted to talk you out of using his ‘precious fuel’ for evil instead of good, you wouldn’t have complied as easily as with me telling you.”

“Well, he’s got me there. Lead the way.”

Prompto led Lightning next to the chairs and table a few good feet from the caravan’s door, laying out two yoga mats and putting on some calming music on his smartphone to get started. Sitting criss-cross to achieve as much comfort as possible, their session began with simple breathing techniques with their eyes shut, harnessing tranquility and allowing its flow throughout their physical forms. Lightning’s heart still raced a mile a minute trying to siphon out the caffeine, but concentrating more on the meditating session and the sound of Prompto’s hushed voice started slowing it back to normalcy at a gradual pace. They now sat flat, stretching out their strained feet to let the blood flow back to normal and prevent them from sleeping instead of Lightning.

“Now, the next thing we’ll do is take our core energy and let it flow…” Prompto instructed, keeping a relatively low volume to maintain the serenity. “Just let everything drift down to your toes like the crisp, chilling path of a little creek. Picture the water washing against you just minding its own business save for a passing hello…”

“That’s a new way to put it,” Lightning commented.

“Try not to talk so much. Listening is key in relaxing. And be sure to keep taking slow… breaths. In through the nose…” Prompto paused to follow his own advice, happy to see Lightning doing the same after peeking. “Now, out through the lips.”

_‘This is pretty relaxing. I almost wish I could have done this more often. But, not as much as I’m wishing this works to begin with.’_

“And now, we’re gonna have the energy in our core go further up. Just like what we did for our feet, but the other direction.”

“Shouldn’t we have run out by then?”

“Energy is limitless, Pink. You can send it wherever you want and there’s no running out of it.” Prompto cranked his hands in a wafting motion, as if gathering the energy faster. “Take some deep breaths to help you and feel it all course through where it feels best…”

Lightning did as told, yawning quietly while her body started slowing down from the depleting caffeine. “This isn’t gonna work, Prompto. I’m telling you…”

“Give it a shot! Focus on letting your new sensations disperse throughout the body. Calming the mind, easing the tension, soothing the soul…”

 _WHUMP_!

The joint sounds of a body hitting the yoga mat and gentle snoring let Prompto look over, pleased at Lightning finally asleep from the session (or, at least crashing after more than enough can of cold coffee; either one worked). Shutting off the music, he picked her up and carried her inside bridal style, delicate so as not to disturb her slumber. Opening the room with Lightning’s belongings already inside, Prompto placed her under the covers and pulled them over to keep the woman warm. Leaving so he could go and reclaim the yoga mats from outside, he returned carrying everything under his arms and stopped for a pregnant moment looking at Lightning’s door.

“She would still want every base covered,” Prompto pondered, going outside for a third time and returning with a chair that he put under the knob to Lightning’s room. “...Better put some more on just in case.”

Finding the heaviest things possible in the caravan, Prompto laid some on the chair and the rest against the door to further barricade it. Patting everything a good few times for stability, it was able to pass the test and seemingly make the night just fine. Certain there wouldn’t be as much of a need anyways with having soothed the savage beastly beauty, Prompto left to the room where the other three Lucians were sleeping as one group to turn in for the night. Fewer problems should arise until tomorrow’s tasks; easy for Lightning, and easy for the boys in all getting some violence-free rest.

* * *

The unsettling sounds of a doorknob being yanked at back and forth loudly were the first to wake the Lucians, Noctis only behind in awakening by a few extra moments and even then stayed pretty groggy. No sort of strange motions came from their room’s knob, which deduced the source as coming from the other side of it. More rattling disturbed the caravan, growing quiet for a few long moments and giving off a false sense of security that none of the boys took just yet. As expected, it was killed by the loud breaking of wood, many things flying away and crashing right on impact.

“That can’t be a good sign,” Gladio winced.

“It’s not,” Prompto gulped. “Maybe if we’re quiet, Light can’t find and maul us.”

“Considering how little distance there is between us and her within the caravan, I’m severely doubting it,” Ignis refuted, opening his eyeglasses and sliding them up the bridge of his nose. “Our best bet is to fully brace ourselves for whatever nightmare she’s experiencing this time.”

“Why not just wake her up?” Noctis yawned. “She’s clearly not thinking straight in her sleep if bad dreams are causing the problem.”

“Don’t you know what the number one rule of waking a sleepwalker is?” Prompto asked. “One word: ‘don’t’.”

“And has anyone ever said _why_ you don’t wake a sleepwalker? They’re always bent on saying not to and nothing else.”

“I guess the same reason you wouldn’t wake up a sleeping bear,” Gladio suggested. “And who we’re dealing with has the strength of at least ten.”

“Even pardoning that, experiencing the shock of such a rude awakening would surely prove detrimental,” Ignis added. “The last thing we want is to worsen the situation.”

The front of the Helter-Skelter gunblade piercing cleanly through the door’s wood alarmed the boys, even more so when it started ripping it apart from the center in an almost digging motion. “A little too late for that, Specs!” Noctis shrieked.

Much like a horror movie’s bloodthirsty antagonist, the nightmare-possessed Lightning let herself in by unlocking the door using her hand in the hole she made and forcing the rest open. “You’re gonna need to do a lot better than just guarding yourself if you wanna take me down, Cid!” she declared ferociously, gunblade held at her side.

“‘Cid’? Why is she suddenly dreaming about fighting Cindy’s grandpa?”

“Maybe it’s over weapon upgrades?” Prompto suggested. “An evaluator and an upgrader going mano a mano! The fight of a century!”

“Considering one’s a 77-year old man and the other could break a femur using only her pinky finger, it’s doubtful,” Ignis refuted.

“Anything’s possible in a dream. They might be equal strength in her head for all we know,” Gladio added. When Lightning jumped forward and brought the gunblade down, it cut through the mattress instead of Noctis, who was stolen out of range by Gladio himself. “Noct!”

“It’s a shame the bed can’t put up a fight,” Noctis wheezed, looking right into Lightning’s bloodshot eyes. “Run for it!”

Lightning turned sharply, firing a bullet using gun mode and growling when she missed any of the boys. “You traitor! Get back here!” she roared, switching back to the sword and giving chase unaware of her and everyone only wearing night clothes. “If you wanted to backstab the fal’Cie so badly, leading me and my friends to our deaths definitely isn’t a way to start!”

“What the Hell are you talking about?!” Gladio grunted, blocking the gunblade’s next strike using Claymore. “Snap out of it, Lightning!” He turned to the others now in the doorway. “I’ll hold her back for as long as I can. You guys go and find a way to cool her off!”

“Gladio—” was what Noctis tried to say.

“I said GO! Now!”

Taking heed, Noctis ran alongside Prompto and Ignis to safety, making it a good distance away from the caravan when bursting through where the room window once stood came Gladio, knocked unconscious on impact after Lightning got done dealing with him personally.

Unfortunately for them, she was quick to catch up using her agility, leaping and raising her sword to bring it down upon landing. Mid-way in its process, Noctis used a single Warp Strike to keep Lightning at bay and away from their friends, both falling to the ground in unison.

“Finally fighting back instead of hiding behind your brand, are you?” Lightning panted, getting back on her feet. “That’s fine by me. I prefer an actual challenge.”

“Whatever language you’re speaking, nothing that’s happening in there is going on out here,” Noctis tried telling her despite guessing it wouldn’t get through. “We don’t actually wanna fight you. It’s only us.”

“Just end this already! I’m tired of reliving these stupid nightmares! And if I have to be the one to put a stop to them, then it’s fine by me.”

Lightning ran towards Noctis, swinging her gunblade relentlessly while he deflected just as many times and could no longer ponder the statement she’d just made. For now since his life and anyone else’s depended on it, he needed to entertain her trance and play along until she followed protocol and blacked out for the night. Dashing forward while slashing Rune Saber repeatedly, Noctis brought the blade down at Lightning, who shielded herself by holding her own sword up before it could it. Swatting it away, she lunged towards the prince moving the gunblade in diligent directions, leaping up and high for a powerful repeat of what went down at their recent campsite.

“Not a chance!” Noctis grunted, tumbling away and warping to the caravan’s roof. _‘Gonna have to figure out how to wear her out. But, I should be safe up here to think for a little bit—’_ The sound of something hitting metallic material captured Noctis’ attention, looking to see Lightning climbing the caravan carrying Helter-Skelter between her teeth. _‘Couldn’t have spoken sooner.’_

“You’re not escaping me…” Lightning grunted, stabbing the caravan top with the blade and jumping on, pulling it out and raising it again for another round of unconscious combat. “CID RAINES!”

Squaring off, Noctis braced himself for Lightning’s next attack, which he’d realized after a few extra moments had never come. Instead, she was perfectly still in her past pose, dropping her gunblade before falling to her knees and ultimately collapsing with a small, red-feathered dart sticking out of her rear. “What the?” he wondered, then seeing Prompto holding the tranquilizing pistol in question and Ignis next to him. “Impeccable timing.”

“‘When and why would you need something like this?’, Iggy said,” Prompto bragged, blowing across the muzzle. “I sure hope this answers your question.”

“I humbly stand corrected,” Ignis said, carefully removing the dart from Lightning. “This should pacify her for a good while and prevent anymore fits tonight.”

“And, now we know she definitely wasn’t dreaming about fighting the Cid we know,” Noctis included. “Different last name.”

“Someone else from her past, most likely. Quite a coincidence of him having the same given name, I say.”

“Hey, uhh, how strong was that tranquilizer, by the way? Enough to knock Light out and all, but…”

“Lightning will be just fine. The dart contained nothing more than a strong, yet simple sedative with temporary effects.”

Noctis felt more relieved, taking Lightning still breathing in her slumber as more comfort. “Good. Well, I don’t know about you guys, but I could go for going back to bed.”

“Or what’s left of it,” Prompto commented. “It’s not like none of us have slept on rougher things, though!”

“The best to do now is to get as well of a rest as we can after what’s transpired,” Ignis said, picking up Lightning and climbing back down to the ground carrying her. “I’ll put her to bed and meet you both in the room.”

“G’night, Ignis!” Noctis and Prompto said in weary unison.

Seeing how the slothful prince was prepared to make the caravan roof his new bed, Prompto carried Noctis off and headed back inside with him slung over his shoulder like a filled bag of rice. Everyone reclaimed their former spots in bed (pardoning the gash in the boys’ mattress they knew they’d have inevitably pay extra to replace), all but eventually passing out under pure exhaustion. Lightning being decommissioned from the sedative running through her bloodstream, no more worries of a surprise ambush kept anyone awake or paranoid for the rest of the night.

* * *

For almost the entire day the following one, Lightning hadn’t said a word to any of the boys aside from vague greetings, refusing a direct glance even with that. Her only responses were short if needed, though it wasn’t too hard to tell she wasn’t doing this because she was angry as would be the usual reason. No matter who attempted to get her to say anything outside of combat or instructions or how they did it, nary a nick could puncture the barrier and went brushed aside. So much as _getting_ close to Lightning proved just as difficult; going past the invisible two-foot boundary resulted in her stepping an even greater ways away with unbreaking silence.

“You can’t keep dodging us forever,” Noctis challenged.

“Don’t make bets you’ll wind up losing,” Lightning retorted, still having her back turned to the prince.

“Then I’ll stick to this one. None of us are mad about what happened, Light. We just wanna see you get a good night’s sleep without whatever’s haunting you coming back up.”

“Afraid you’re out of luck on that. I’m only gonna say that the dreams I have at night are not going away that easily. Once I have it covered, there’ll be nothing left for us to put up with.”

“I’d bet if we helped, you’d stop having nightmares faster.”

“You’ve done nothing but that and nothing’s worked. This isn’t something anyone should get involved with except myself. Pulling you guys into it has been causing even more trouble.”

“If you’d just tell us what’s exactly in the nightmares—”

“—There’s nothing you can do to help. I could tell you my entire life story and you still wouldn’t be able to get it.”

“Maybe, maybe not, but it’s better than doing nothing and watching you go through all that stress at night. We only don’t understand because you’re not telling us anything outside of bits and pieces from your sleep talking. And even those don’t clear up much, either.”

“Which is exactly how it’s gonna stay. I’ll handle it and before you know it, we can put this entire fiasco in the past where it belongs and forget any of it ever happened.”

“You can’t just pretend this is nothing. Not that I’m saying you can’t handle things on your own, but if one method hasn’t worked yet, you gotta try another.”

“...It will work. Trust me.”

“Lightning—” Noctis stopped there when the former soldier walked away, leaving him sighing defeatedly.

“Couldn’t get through?” Gladio asked, approaching Noctis alongside Prompto and Ignis.

Noctis shook his head begrudgingly. “If we don’t think of something fast, she could have worse and worse nightmares. Six knows what could happen after that.”

“You may lead a chocobo to its greens, but you can’t make it eat,” Ignis noted. “If Light’s this adamant on staying silent, it’s only so possible to persuade her otherwise.”

“Like I’m giving up that easily. She’s gonna need a lot more than that to get me to throw in the towel.”

“The valiant prince charming wants to save his troubled princess,” Prompto quipped. “You might be a better fit for the armor than me after last night.”

“Question is, how’s it gonna happen?” Gladio wondered. “Calming her down before bed did nothing and not sleeping works just as well.”

“Maybe don’t do it before bed, but… _during_ it?” Prompto had his hands up, stopping the others from commenting too soon. “Lemme clarify! This whole time, we’ve been pitching our ideas before we’re all ready to call it a night. If one of us goes in and does something before Light sleeps too deeply, it might actually do something!”

“Nipping catastrophe in the bud before it can ensue. That isn’t too bad of an idea,” Ignis commented. “But, who will be doing it?”

Thinking for a bit, everyone slowly turned to face Noctis with hopeful stares, the prince stepping back alarmed. “Me? Are you guys insane?!” he objected.

“You’re the one that’s so bent on helping Light sleep better,” Gladio pointed out. “Besides, we wouldn’t be leaving you for dead. If it doesn’t work and she goes berserk again, we’ll be closeby to step in.”

“And you never know, Noct,” Prompto added. “It’s usually the handsome prince that saves the day in the end.”

“Not to mention, our ideas are dwindling by the night,” Ignis concluded. “This well may be our only shot left.”

“...We really don’t have any other, less direct options?” Noctis sighed, getting vague head shakes from his comrades. “Fine. Why not? I’ll try it. What’s the exact battle plan?”

“Wait until everyone’s set up camp and starting to turn in, you go see Lightning before any sleepfighting starts to cool her down, then we’ll step in and rescue you if nothing goes well,” Prompto recounted “Piece of cake!”

Noctis looked back at Lightning sharpening her recently-used gunblade, frowning worriedly at the set distance between them. “If we’re lucky.”

* * *

The night came just a little too soon, camp having just finished being set up per the plan Lightning was left unaware of. As far as she knew, the outdoor sleep was to conserve Gil and prevent it from going towards public utility repairs. Being no one in the right place to argue against that, she finished setting her tent up and changed in private, gathering her day clothes before heading inside for bed. _Looking forward to tonight_ , she thought sarcastically, only dreading the expected nightmares.

“Is she asleep yet?” Noctis whispered.

“Negatory,” Prompto refuted, looking through his binoculars at Lightning preparing her sleeping bag inside the tent seconds before zipping it up. “It’s only a matter of time, though.”

“Do we really need the binoculars? The tents aren’t even far enough apart.”

“Every good stakeout or scope needs a pair! Would you show up to a fancy dinner party without the proper butter knife?”

“Yes, because there’s usually already one at the party. Bringing my own would make me look like a jackass.”

“Besides the point. The binoculars are necessary for keeping us up to date on any sudden movements—”

“—The lady stirs,” Ignis interrupted, pointing to the shifting of Lightning’s tent.

“Go, go, go!” Gladio hastily ordered, ushering Noctis out from their tent with the other two pairs of hands. “Now’s your chance!”

“Alright, I’m out…!” Noctis told them, free of shoves. “Just know if I die, I’m haunting you all first.”

“Yeah, yeah, save it for your ouija board. We’ve got your back as planned.”

Stepping over and carefully unzipping the smaller tent, Noctis saw Lightning clenching her teeth and turn restlessly in her slumber, sweat beading up across her forehead and jaw. “Hello? Light?” he softly called. “Can you hear me?”

“I can’t stop fighting…” Lightning panted in sleep, gripping the pillow tightly as if it were a lifeline. “These have to stop haunting me…! I’ll make them go away on my own!”

“Hey— Light. Lightning! Wake up, it’s another nightmare!” Noctis shook her gently, and after no change occurred, slapped one hard palm to her cheek. “Wake up!”

Gasping and throwing her eyes open, Lightning finally awoke, looking alarmed at her surroundings. “Wh…? Where am I? What’s going on?”

“Wow, it worked.” Correcting himself to avoid confusion, Noctis went to tackle the question. “You’re still in Eos, but you were having another bad dream and I came in here to wake you before it got crazy.”

“Thanks for at least stopping me, but now I’d like to try and stop the rest of my nightmares. Good night.”

“Oh no, I don’t think so, Sarge. I’m not going anywhere yet. Not until you let me lend a hand and figure out what’s been bothering you all this time.”

“This isn’t something you can help me with. I get you want to and it’s nothing on you, but this is not your battle to fight. It’s mine.” When Noctis started snickering then laughing after a pause, Lightning put an eyebrow down. “Did I say something funny?”

“No, but the irony here is. Before, I’d be the one telling you I don’t need your help, but now here I am having it thrown back at me. Kinda funny how things change like that, don’t you think?”

“...Huh. That is pretty ironic hearing it out loud. But, it’s also two different contexts. One’s happened more in the present and the other’s from a past I couldn’t tell you about even if I tried to.”

“You could. Try to, I mean.”

“I _can’t_ , Noct.” Lightning shrank away to a sadder side of her Noctis had only seen one other time. “You just wouldn’t get it.”

“No excuse not to try. Even if it doesn’t make total sense or sounds crazy, I can still do something. Anything is better than leaving you like this.”

“Why are you so persistent with this?”

Noctis got closer to the closed up Lightning, resting a hand on her knee with that tooth-achingly tender look on his face. “Because I’m not about to walk away from someone I care for this much. You’re just as much of my friend as everyone else is, and I’m not changing my mind on that.”

Lightning sat stunned, her face softening considerably compared to its usual stern disposition. Noctis didn’t let up, either, waiting patiently for when she’d be ready and talk. At this rate, they were both out of options, so maybe… he was right. Bringing it up with someone wanting what she did and finding closure could surprise her. Quietly taking a breath, Lightning turned her body to face Noctis and agreed to the task, beginning slow and picking her words carefully so as to only give away the important, less confusing parts.

“—And just when I thought everything was looking up for us, I get sucked right back into trouble,” Lightning continued. “For— years, it felt like there was no way out for me or anyone that had their lives ruined just by associating with me. I’ve gone through so many fights, I can hardly remember what it’s like to finally be normal.”

“What about your life back home? In… Astréos, right?” Noctis asked.

Lightning nodded. “Paradise. Well, alright, it’s nothing to write home to, but that’s just it. No fighting to stay alive; no feeling like the next time you turn around, you’re gonna lose it all by blinking; none of that. I could finally stop looking over my shoulder at every turn and… settle down.”

“Yeah. Sounds like a life anyone could ask for after when you spend that much time going through a lot. On the bright side, you’ll get to get it up and running again once we reach Accordo.”

“I assume that’s where Altissia is?"

“Mmm-hmm. It’s only the capital, but they’re pretty much the same thing.” Noctis caught himself from getting off-topic, forgetting the water capital for then. “Anyways. What I wanted to get at was that even though lots of this happened so long ago, you don’t have to deal with it all by yourself. It’s still something that’d bother anyone for life, so why not ask for a little help now and again?”

“Because there’s only so far you’d be able to do anything without actually being there with me in the past.”

“I get that. I only have a good enough idea of what you’ve gone through, and I’m not gonna pretend I know the full story. But, I still want you knowing you’re not alone. You have people that care about you back home, and some here, too.”

“Considering all four of you have been breaking your backs trying to solve this issue of mine, I’m not entirely surprised.”

“You’ll need way more than saying ‘shoo’ to get rid of us that easily. So long as you’re stuck with us, we’re not going away just because you told us to.”

“If only it were that easy.” Lightning laughed alongside Noctis at the quip, sneaking a yawn in-between. “I might have to tell you to go since I am getting pretty tired. And, I know for a fact you are, too. Well, more than usual.”

“Hardly a difference. If you’re not feeling well, then I don’t mind—” Noctis yawned, rubbing his eyes, “staying up some more.”

“I’m not five, Noct. Should our little talk not have worked, I’d rather you didn’t have front row seats to another night conniption.”

“Maybe it won’t be as bad now. You never know…”

“No, but I do know I… prefer sleeping alone, and not… with any narcoleptic princes in my tent.”

“You’re outta luck, then. I’m pretty sleepy already.”

“Noct, don’t you—!” 

Too late, he was out like her shortened name. Groaning, Lightning gave up and nudged Noctis a few extra inches away to have enough room to get back inside her sleeping bag. Zipping it back up, she eased and simmered down tiredly. Part of her still felt tense at what could possibly come in her slumber, especially with Noctis still being directly to her left. Moving him was out of the question, as she’d come to learn the hard way, leaving the only option as hoping for the best result. Lightning grew drowsier, sky blue eyes slowly falling shut and carrying her off to sleep for the aging night.

* * *

“How precious,” Gladio commented the next morning, between Ignis and Prompto when they all got up to wake up the slumbering two.

“I’d say it’s a much better outcome than when they were last in a similar position,” Ignis added. “Suffice to say, this one is more preferable.”

“They have been getting along a lot better,” Prompto noted. “I didn’t think they’d be _this_ cozy, though.”

“At least not this soon, anyways. Should we wake them?”

“Let’s savor it for a bit, then we’ll do it if neither does anything,” Gladio suggested.

Lightning yawned quietly, rubbing her eyes and gradually coming back to reality. To her very pleasant surprise, the boys were standing before her without so much as a scratch or injury great or small. She just couldn’t believe it; the talk worked after all. Relief possessed her, but was replaced by surprise when she’d looked to see an equally uninjured Noctis laying his head under her arm, yet over her chest right where her heart was. Although she’d quickly let go and sent him landing on the pillow by her sleeping bag, Noctis only stirred slightly and woke up with groggy ease.

“Morning,” he said casually. “Hope you didn’t mind us sharing the pillow for the night.”

“The pillow?” Lightning wondered. “I mean, yeah. It was fine. And look, everyone had their first good night’s sleep in ages.”

“Some more than others,” Ignis quipped, the implication going over Noctis’ head, but earning the expected scowl from Lightning.

“O… kay? Are we gonna get going soon?” Noctis asked.

“Yes, we just came to make sure two were all set to depart. Get dressed, and we’ll get back on the road.”

“Gotcha.” Noctis pushed himself up to let Lightning prepare for the day, only to be stopped by her grabbing his wrist. “What’s up?”

“Nothing. I just wanted to thank you. You know, for coming in to talk to me last night,” Lightning said. “This probably isn’t the end of my baggage by a longshot, but at least I can say for sure that I’m not by myself away from home.”

“And when you do go back when everything’s over, don’t be so quick sweeping us under the rug. We can still stay friends even in two different places.”

“I see no reason why we couldn’t. It’d be a little hard keeping in touch from that far.”

“Nah. Feel free to ring us up on your phone. We can even do FaceMe if you wanna talk outside of just a normal call.”

“‘FaceMe’?” Lightning took her new smartphone out, looking for the aforementioned app. “That’s what that does?”

“Yep. If you wanna see anyone face-to-face, just use that app. Should be easier than what you were used to before, huh?”

“Leave that in the past. I don’t think Ignis has totally let me live that down yet.” Putting her phone back, Lightning shooed Noctis out finally. “Now, scram. I’d love to ‘face you’ all I want when we’re back in the car not wearing pj’s.”

“Can’t wait. It’s a nice step up from you giving us the cold shoulder yesterday.”

“Oh, yeah. Sorry for that.”

“Forget about it. We know you just weren’t feeling good. See you in five.”

Noctis left Lightning alone to change, both relieved they were able to get up and start the day without any broken bones or guilt from causing them. The campground lacking hints of an unconscious showdown were just as comforting, further proving no nightmare came to life during the previous night. Lightning knew better than to just assume things were necessarily over for her after one good occurrence; a past like hers would never let up just like that. When they’d pop up next was now reduced to a huge mystery, something that only ended up worrying her more than ever.

A honk of the Regalia’s horn after putting away her tent brought her to looking at the boys waiting from their seats. In private, she smiled, being reminded that there was no leaving her alone for too long. Rocky life roads were second nature at this point, but Lightning could at least find something (or, some _four_ , among others) to fall back on if they got too rough to handle solo. Maybe, just maybe, things wouldn’t be as bad as they were before. She could safely say she had that going for her, if she had to pick.

**Author's Note:**

> Going back and rewatching certain parts of the XIII trilogy was a little tedious (as much as I enjoy the trilogy despite others excessively shitting on it), but I strive for accuracy and I hope I conveyed that enough. I'm just more relieved that I'm not the one that had to fight Cid Fucking Raines all over again, if anything (-1000/10, would not wish on my enemies).
> 
> I do hope some good ol' Versus XV is hoping you all in these trying, virus-filled times. Be sure to wash your hands and stay as clean as possible until we've fully ridden this storm out! Stay positive and see you guys next time (as soon as I think of a title for what I have planned lmfao)! Great seeing you all! ♥


End file.
